Page 107 of Giddy Up, Daddy

“That so? Well, I admit you’ve got me curious.” He rolled his head on his shoulders and yawned, before bringing his attention back to her. “Do you want to go and get it?”

“Yes!” She started to slide out of bed and then stopped. She’d actually forgotten that the surprise was sitting in her dad’s old garage. “Oh. Wait. No.”

One eyebrow went up. “No? Then what are you waking me up for?”

“I mean, I do want to get it. I want to give it to you right now, but um…” She paused, hesitating before finally blurting out, “You’d have to get dressed. We have to go outside for it.”

“Hell no. Absolutely not.” He shook his head. “Going out in the dark at fuck-off-o’clock is a once-a-month thing.” He paused, then added, “At most. Whatever it is will have to wait until the sun is up, Charlie.”

“But… I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep until?—”

“Then go find something to do in another room, because I’m pretty sure I can.”

“Sam… ugh. Fine.” She grumbled as she slid out of bed, pulled on her slippers, and went to go distract herself. She’d waited weeks, but now that the day was here, she felt like she couldn’t wait another second.

She tried working on school assignments, but her mind was scattered. She put the television on, but she was too restless to sit still. In the end, she decided to make Sam a special romantic breakfast.

The coffee was perked, the bacon was sizzling, and she was just pulling a heart-shaped pancake out of the frying pan, when Sam appeared.

He looked rough and annoyed. “Charlie…”

“Yes, Daddy?” She flashed him a grin, and then poured batter into the heart-shaped ring in the pan. “Breakfast is almost ready.”

He sighed and ruffled his hair. It was already standing in all directions anyway. “Charlie, did it occur to you that making a lot of clatter in the kitchen was going to keep me from going back to sleep?”

Oops.“Uh, no. But, to be fair, Daddy, you’re usually getting up about now anyway.”

“Yes, when I haven’t been tossing and turning for an hour after getting woken too early.”

She gave him puppy dog eyes and pouted her lips. “Sorry. I was just too excited. It’s been so hard keeping this secret, and I finally get to show you.”

“You’re sure we have to go out for this? You can’t bring it in?”

She nodded. “Yeah, it’s not—It’s… well, you’ll see.”

He gave her a long stare. “Fine. I’ll get dressed.”

Charlie let out a squeal and pulled the pan off the heat, ready to throw some clothes on, but before she could take a step away from the stove, Sam stopped her. “Afterbreakfast, Charlie.”

Oh. She let out a heavy sigh. “Okay, Daddy. But if I die from anticipation, you’ll blame yourself.”

“I’m sure you’ll survive. Besides, letting bacon get soggy and cold is a crime.” He leaned over and snatched a piece from the pile she had drying on a paper towel.

She couldn’t argue with that. “That’s fair. I guess I can wait alittlelonger. Why don’t you grab some coffee and go sit, while I finish up. Do you want eggs too? I can scramble some up real quick.”

He kissed the top of her head and gave her a quick squeeze. “I think pancakes and bacon will be fine, darlin. It smells great.”

Sam poured himself a cup of coffee and settled at the table, watching as she finished up the last of the pancakes. She didn’t bother making the rest heart-shaped, which made it go faster. And when she carried their plates to the table, she ploppedherself in his lap. It was, after all, supposed to be a romantic breakfast.

He nuzzled her neck and seemed more interested in her than the food, and she realized she might have made a mistake. If they ended up in the bedroom after breakfast, it was going to be even longer before she could show him the truck.

“What happened to cold bacon being a crime?” she protested.

“I guess they’ll have to lock me up then.” His voice was muffled by her hair. One hand massaged her thigh and threatened to dip between them, until she clamped them shut.

She tried to get up, but he pulled her back. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Daddy, normally I would love to turn this into… well, where it’s going. But if I don’t get to show you the surprise soon, I’m going to explode.”

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